A History of Sanskrit Literature c14.34

c14.34

Another late epic, narrating the fortunes of the same hero as the *Naishadhīya*, is the *Nalodaya*, or "Rise of Nala," which describes the restoration to power of King Nala after he had lost his all. Though attributed to Kālidāsa, it is unmistakably the product of a much later age. The chief aim of the author is to show off his skill in the manipulation of the most varied and artificial metres, as well as all the elaborate tricks of style exhibited in the latest Kāvyas. Rhyme even is introduced, and that, too, not only at the end of, but within metrical lines.